Pubertal Changes

Abstract

Observations on the staging of pubertal development were made on all subjects on each occasion they were seen, and classified according to the descriptions of Tanner (1962) and Tanner et al. (1969), on the basis of genital and pubic hair development in boys, and breast and pubic hair development in girls. Details of all these values are shown in Table 8.1, together with the ages of the various peak velocities, and menarche in girls. These are presented as mean ± 1 SD and also 10th, 50th and 90th centiles. The values for the Leeds group of boys in these particular respects were very similar to the overall group of boys, which included the Douai cohort, as indicated in Table 8.1. The range in ages of achieving comparable pubertal stages within the groups was considerable, and the different growth characteristics shown by those who were early or late developers is considered in Chapter 14.